Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) is a technology that uses optical character recognition on images to read vehicle registration plates to create vehicle location data. ALPR can use existing closed-circuit television, road-rule enforcement cameras, or cameras specifically designed for the task. ALPR can be used to store the images captured by the cameras as well as the text from the license plate.
In the security and surveillance industry, the so-called Video Management System (VMS) is well known. Typically the VMS is a component of a larger security system. In general, the VMS: collects video from cameras and other sources; records/stores that video to a storage device; and provides an interface to both access recorded video and view live video.